Composite parts are used for a variety of applications. For example many parts of an aircraft such as wing planks, vertical and horizontal stabilizer skins, fuselage panels, and various other components are made of composite structures. The composite parts are typically formed on a mold that is mounted on a base plate. Layers of composite material are impregnated with uncured resin and then laid up over the mold. A vacuum bag is then placed over the uncured composite material and sealed to the plate about the periphery. To cure the part, a vacuum is drawn from between the vacuum bag and the base plate and the entire assembly is placed in an autoclave where the temperature and pressure are raised to cure the resin. After curing, the assembly is returned to room temperature and the vacuum bag is removed so that the cured composite part may be removed from the mold.
Construction of the vacuum bag may be time consuming, expensive, and unreliable unless skilled personnel are assigned to the task. Requiring an airtight seal around the periphery of the composite part in order to draw and maintain a vacuum pressure further complicates the task. Requiring the fastening contact to be airtight may limit the types of fastening and the types of vacuum bags that may be used and also requires that the fastening construction be done with careful skill.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts in the field of vacuum bag sealing.